Draft connection



March 5, 1946. w. s -rzwooo DR1.5..FT\ CONNECTION Filed April 29, 1944 INVENTOR. W/L mm mriwaw Patented Mar. 5, 1946 DRAFT CONNECTION William Gatewood, Carthage, Ind. Application April 29, 1944,Serial No. 533,325

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a draft connection between vehicles.

The chief object of this invention is to prevent wagon or like tongue breakage.

The chief-feature of this invention comprises including in a draft connection a universal joint structure, said connection including a lapping' construction capable of considerable but limited relative up and down movement and having substantially no lateral relative movement therein. 7

A connection of this character is particularly of value for connecting a wagon or other vehicle to a tractor, corn picker or hay loader and the like for traction of the former by thelatter and particularly in the fields, etc.

Other objects and features of the invention will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawing and the following description and claim:

In the drawing r Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the major portion of a draft connection embodying the preferred form of the invention, the source of tractive power and the vehicle to be drawn thereby being omitted as well as the vehicle connected end of the connection.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1. v

- Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the invention looking toward the drawn vehicle.

In the drawing I0 indicates a tongue. brokenaway end is arranged to conform to the end of a conventional tongue of a Wagon or like to be drawn. Such end is mounted in the usual manner in the hounds of such wagon. The usual tongue is about twelve feet long. In the present invention the substitute tongue is about four feet in length. When the substitution is made, the conventional tongue may be secured beneath the wagon bed in the usual manner.

A triangular shaped plate II is suitably secured to the under face of tongue ID as by bolts l2 and nuts l3. The plate ll terminates rearwardly in a curled or cylindrical portion l4 forming the barrel of a hinge having headed pintle l5. A pair of L-shaped bars l6 are apertured at one end and pintle I5 is seated therein. A second tongue I! at its rearward end is straddled by bars or arms l6 and suitably secured thereto as by nuts and bolts or rivets l8.

The forward end of tongue I! is provided with a pair of forwardly extending straps I9 suitably secured together by bolts and nuts or rivets as shown. Herein each strap is offset at 2| and the forward free end is apertured at 22. These apertures register and are adapted for traction power connection by suitable means interposed The between the plates and apertured or the like to receive pivot member 23. V

' In the traction of the vehicle the tongue I!) may swing up and down on pivot l5 as required by surface inequalities. For turning and the like, the pivoting is effected at 23. Since herein each tongue I 0 and I1 is approximately four feet long and same lap each other as it were, the total length of the draft connection is from six to seven feet. This provides for shorter radius tuming than if the conventionaltongue were emfurther unitize the tongues, an inverted U-shaped guide 24 extends upwardly from the lower tongue I! and seats the forward free end of the upper tongue Ill. The cross bar portion 25 of said guide is sufficiently elevated so that in normal and slightly abnormal tilting, the tongue I!) does not engage portion 25. In other words the effective length of the resulting guide slot, as it were, is of sufficient length for satisfactory operation.

The guide is secured to tongue I! by a bolt or like 26 extending through both arms of the guide where same straddle tongue ll. Preferably, to prevent guide tilting, since but one anchor 26 is utilized, each lower end of arm 24 extends laterally immediately below tongue I! as at 21, and these flanges or lips 21 extend towards each other.

Various modifications hereof will readily suggest themselves topersons skilled in this art, and such modifications are considered within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claim since the foregoing disclosure is by way of example only.

The invention claimed is:

A draft connection including in combination a.

pair of partially lapping traction tongues, the

non-lappingportions thereof extending oppositely of each other, a pivotal connection therebetween adjacent one end of one tongue and an intermediate portion of the other tongue, and guide means adjacent the adjacent end of said other tongue and for guiding same and carried by the intermediate portion of said one tongue, the tongues at the remote ends being adapted for connection to a source of tractive power and a vehicle to be drawn thereby, the pivotal connection comprising a hinge having two pivotally connectedleaf structures substantially transverse to I each other and secured at opposite ends to the WILLIAM GATEWOOD: 

